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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

The Typing Coach Online Typing Course Review

One of my big pet peeves is "hunting and pecking" on the keyboard. I am sure this is because of my Business Teacher background. I think it is extremely important to learn to type properly using the right keystrokes, but I have been unsuccessful at motivating Buddy to learn typing. This is why I was very interested when we recently received The Typing Coach Online Typing Course from The Typing Coach to review. I hoped it would help Buddy learn the importance of typing and the proper method of typing.

The Typing Coach Online Typing Course is a self paced course that was designed by a veteran typing teacher. It uses a student centered systematic approach to break bad habits that students may have already developed like typing with just two fingers. It is designed to teach students not to focus on the keyboard or monitor while they are typing. The course uses a variety of audio, video, and written instructions to teach students. It teaches them proper posture, finger positioning, and how to improve their typing speed and accuracy. There are seven lessons to work through along with lessons on posture, a practice and testing area, and a final assessment. The lessons are designed for mastery so after your student goes through them, they are highly encouraged to repeat them. The goal is that by the end of the course your student will be able to type at least 10 words per minute with no more than one error per minute. If your student continues to work on the lessons with the goal of mastery, they should be able to get to the point where they are typing 45+ words per minute. The cost of this online course is just $17 per student per year which is very affordable. The lessons cover:

Having Good Posture

Home Row

Top Row

Bottom Row

Shift Keys

Typing Practices

Number Row

They are designed to focus on one row of the keyboard at a time to help with mastery and reduce errors. The lessons are thorough and like I previously stated, the student can repeat them as many times as needed to achieve mastery. There is a printable student manual that is used throughout the course. There is also a specific area of the program used for practice and testing. Students age 12 and up can work through this program independently while younger students will need more help.

Buddy working on the reading part of a lesson.

Buddy and I sat down and watched the course introduction together so we knew what we could expect from this program. I printed off the student manual, typing checks, and the progress chart for him and got him working on the "Before Snapshot." This was a short assignment for him to complete so that it showed him where he was starting with his typing. I have to admit that his "Before Snapshot" was not good. He is not a fan of typing properly even though it drives me nuts when he types using the two finger method. So I wasn't surprised that his beginning numbers weren't great. After that he started on the posture lesson. He does have good posture. Then he worked his way though the home row and top row lessons. These took him a while because he found that he couldn't pass the assignments until he actually started typing the way The Typing Coach teaches with your hands on home row. Once he started using the proper finger positions his typing got much better and he was able to pass the assignments and tests. He is currently working on the bottom row lesson and even though he has struggled some, he is still trying to work his way through this whole course.

A page of the student manual

Buddy thought this online course was okay. He did not like looking at the student manual for what to type versus other programs that teach you to type using the computer screen. He also said he preferred that the program would be either all audio or all reading and not a mix. There were a couple of things that he did out of order because he would forget to see which part came next. He does plan to finish the course because he knows as he enters high school he will need to type more papers and documents.

As a parent with a Business Teacher background, I thought this was a very good online course. I completely understand why The Typing Coach teaches you not to rely on looking at the monitor or your hands and I prefer that my kids do learn to type without looking at the monitor. I did think going between the audio and reading was confusing at first, but if you pay attention, you won't have any issues at all. I liked the format of the practice and testing area and that this area kept track of your work progress. Also the program is very user-friendly and The Typing Coach is quick to respond if you need help and does his best to take care of your issue. I intend to work my way through this course to brush up on my typing skills as it has been awhile since I last worked on my typing speed. I wanted to get this done before I had to type my review, but my focus has been on finishing up school and settling into our house so I will work on my typing speed this summer.

Buddy working on Home Row

Overall, we think this is a good online typing course. You should check it out to see if it is a good fit for your students. You can find out more information on The Typing Coach on their website and on Twitter. You can find out more about The Typing Coach Online Typing Course we used here. As always you can check out what my friends on the Homeschool Review Crew thought of this course as well by clicking the banner below.

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About Me

I am a Stay At Home Mom to 2 kids. We homeschool and although it has been an adventure, I love it. I also love to craft and cook. I am a child of God and He guides my path. I have recently started reviewing homeschool products and love it. I would love to review a product for you.